We have sent money, clean clothes, toothbrushes and toothpaste, cigarettes, books etc. to the prisoners as much as we’ve been able. However, the prisoners haven’t received all packages from their parents or other senders. They also haven’t been able to send or receive letters or postcards.

During the imprisonment of the activists the police hasn’t offered legal facilities for the prisoners. Police says that there hasn’t been resources for example for cleaning cells and in the first few days of imprisonment the prisoners didn’t have possibility to wash up and they didn’t have toilet paper or proper food. Also the prisoners didn’t get outside as much as the legal rights would allow.

On Friday 6th May there was detention trial of two of the activists. Lawyer described this to be a total lynching and the trial was kept without the prosecutor, only the police was present there. Surprisingly the imprisonment continued. These prisoners were released on Tuesday 10.5., but they are still suspected for violent rioting and violently resisting the police. Any charges have not been pressed yet. After these two activists got out from the prison, unfortunately we got information that the police has been bullying the one activist who is still in prison in the middle of the night.

On Thursday 12th May two activists have been released from the remand prison and one activist on Friday 13.5., but one activist is still imprisoned. Finally, the police has cleaned up the cell after many days of pressure on them about the issue. They also finally let the prisoner outside. At the moment this prisoner has nothing big to complain about the prison facilities, says their lawyer.

Only the closest family and the lawyer have been allowed to visit or have phone calls with the prisoners. Of course for the prisoners whose parents live outside of Finland this hasn’t been possible because of the distances. The prisoners haven’t received all books that have been sent to the police for them. Our lawyer said, that’s unprecedented and unthinkable.

The prisoners who don’t speak finnish have been forced to speak English with their family, even though they could speak in Swedish. Anyhow, Swedish is the second official language of Finland, that fact doesn’t exist “in the Finnish Northern-Ostrobothnia” according to the police.

There has been also other ways of repression. Two camps got evicted and we are still working on if it happened on the legal way. Police has destroyed the camps by leaving a huge mess behind them. Activists were forced to leave the area before all equipment and personal items were collected which has lead to the situation that a lot of stuff is missing. Police said, that all stuff will be found from Pyhäjoki municipality (later we found out that it means landfill in practise) and Raahe police station, where we haven’t found any of the lost stuff yet.

On Monday 16th May there was detention trial and the court decided to continue the imprisonment of the activist. The only explanation for the continued imprisonment was that the activist might try to avoid the trial.

The lawyer argued that this is not sufficient enough ground for the continued imprisonment, because all other activists living permanently abroad have already been released. Neither the court nor the police responded to or commented this argument. Charges must be pressed at the latest on Tuesday 31 May, but it is possible that the prosecutor will do it earlier. In the worst case the trial will not be before mid June. The activist is suspected for violent rioting and violently resisting the police. In other words, the suspections are not more aggravated in the case of this activist than the activists who have already been released.

All documents have now been sent to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor will receive them later during this week. That the documents have been sent means that the police investigation is over. In addition to deciding whether to press the charges, the prosecutor can freely decide whether the activist will be released or not.

The treatment of the activist during the imprisonment has been more adequate since last Friday. Before that the cell was not cleaned at all.

On Friday 13th May the communication ban was cancelled. This has enabled longer phone calls with the family, calls to friends and receiving and sending letters and postcards. On Monday 16 May we delivered more books and snuff to the prisoner.

At the moment a lot of different support actions are needed! Organise a support cafe or a demonstration in your city, take part in solidarity actions or travel to the camp to show that the resistance will not end by locking up the activists.

ACAB

UPDATE 16/17.5
Today on Monday 16.5 there was detention trial and the court decided to continue the imprisonment of the activist. The only explanation for the continued imprisonment was that the activist might try to avoid the trial. The lawyer argued that this is not sufficient enough ground for the continued imprisonment, because all other activists living permanently abroad have already been released. Neither the court nor the police responded to or commented this argument. The charges must to be pressed by the end of this month (31.5) but it is possible that the prosecutor will do it earlier. In worst case the trial won’t be until the mid of June. The activist is suspected for violent rioting and violently resisting the police. In other words, the suspections are not more aggravated in the case of this activist than the activists who have already been released.

All documents have now been sent to the prosecutor, and the prosecutor will receive them later during this week. That the documents have been sent means that the police investigation is over. In addition to deciding whether to press the charges, the prosecutor can freely decide whether the activist will be released or not.

The treatment of the activist during the imprisonment has been more adequate since last Friday. Before that the cell was not cleaned at all.

On Friday 13.5 the communication ban was cancelled. This has enabled longer phone calls with the family, calls to friends and receiving and sending letters and postcards. On Monday 16 May we delivered more books and snuff to the prisoner.

At the moment a lot of different support actions are needed! Organise a support cafe or a demonstration in your city, take part in solidarity actions or travel to the camp to show that the resistance will not end by putting activists behind bars!

EN
In the end of April 2016 it will be a year since Fennovoima started to prepare areas of Hanhikivi cape for the new nuclear power plant construction in Northern Finland. At the same time the protest camp against Fennovoima celebrates its first anniversary. The camp was able to stay inside the construction area over five months and was able to slow down the construction works. During the summer, dozens of blockades took place and newspapers wrote about various sabotages. In September, after the eviction that lasted eight days, the camp moved outside the construction site to continue its activities with help of local supporters. Blockades and other activity against nuclear power did not stop at any point.

In the end of April we are going to return to the construction site. The aim is to paralyze the whole construction site, for a long time. With a big enough group we can reoccupy the area and stay there. We don’t only want to occupy the area back but also fill the surrounding areas with activities against Fennovoima, nuclear power, destruction of nature and capitalism, and by respecting the plurality of tactics.

Come and join us to make this possible. Come to share your knowhow in a workshop or to learn from the more experienced, and start your summer with numerous comrades in the middle of nature just awaking for the spring.

The event starts on Friday 22 April with a party continuing over the weekend. The following week will be filled with action and workshops, sharing knowledge and knowhow, getting to know new comrades along with action. On Tuesday 26 April it will be thirty years from Chernobyl accident – symbolically perfect moment to stop a new nuclear project. On Chernobyl Day various organizations will carry out their protests and we will also do our part. The event will climax next weekend to the First of May when the aim is to organize an all-time riotous First of May party of Northern Finland. In the nearby cities marches for First of May are also organize and we can join them too.

You can read about our activities and follow the planning of the event atfennovoima.no.com

If and when you decide to join us, send us an email. Please let us know if you are also interested in organizing a workshop or other activities.stopfennovoima [at] protonmail.com

Kiitämme kaikesta huomiosta ja tuesta!
—ENG:
The person in a tree hut is been taken down by the cops. The operation required cutting trees, building a new road, special unit of cops and fire department, 3 big vehicles, guards, and many hours. Finally the mop of pine martens caught the squirrel. Our comrade was taken into hospital to get liquid, but was already released this night. We are happy that the person is quite ok. All the hunger strikes ended this evening.

Thanks for all solidarity and attention!
On Tuesday September 15th the cops and security guards from local security company Arlia and G4S (they legally are able to stop people and give them to police) started to evict the activists from the land where Fennovoima has planned the construction site of the nuclear power plan in Hanhikivi Cape in Pyhäjoki. 4 arrests were made but people were released the day after. Updates from a treehouse (where a comrade is protesting) tell us that by 23:00 Wednesday the cops have not yet succeeded to empty the area, but the destruction is still in progress.
—
—

Activists of Hyökyaalto (Tsunami)network and from all over Finland, Sweden and other countries has been present in the protest camp since April.

Since Sep 15th an activist is on a treehouse on hunger strike to pretend the stop of Fennovoima’s Nuclear power plant project. He is still able to communicate thanks to a mobile phone. Police and security don’t let activists to come closer and to help the comrade. His name is Tomas Aakenus, for one week he had food to eat, but on Sunday it finished, so he decided to continue the protest by an hunger strike.

In Pyhäjoki (Hanhikivi Cape is part of administration of the city) 3 people have gone on hunger strike in front of Fennovoima’s office, 1 more also in Helsinki, present in Occupied Porthania (University of Helsinki) on Monday 21th.

Hyökyaalto network inform that is worried about the health of Tomas, due to a previously fever he had and now he has difficulty in absorbing liquids: “Everyone knows the circumstances, if you have wet clothes on a tree for weeks, including three days without eating. So, yes, he begins to be in poor condition.”

Activists claim responsibility of Tomas’s health and safety to the nuclear power company: “These then will be to sort out, if necessary, in court. We believe that the responsibility is of Fennovoima. Which is the bigger criminal: an illegal demonstration or other life-endangering?”
—

On Tuesday September 15 the cops and security guards from local security company Arlia and G4S started to evict the protesters on Fennovoima´s planned nuclear construction site on Hanhikivi Cape in Pyhäjoki. 4 arrests where made but people where released the day after. Updates from a treehouse tell us that by 11 o´clock Wednesday evening the cops have not yet succeeded to empty the area, but the destruction is in progress.

Eviction of Squat Venetsia

On the same day that the eviction in Pyhäjoki started, Squat Venetsia in Helsinki showed solidarity with the occupation in Pyhäjoki. The day after, on wednesday, Venetsia was evicted.

Squat Venetsia had been planning solidarity events for the Pyhäjoki occupation and was also going to play an important role in housing people during the major strikes, protests and anti-government activities planned in Finland on friday.

The resistance on Hanhikivi Cape, Pyhäjoki

The protest camp, which has been around since April, is now moved to a different location in the remaining forest. The diverse activities that has taken place in Hanhikivi Cape – ranging from blockades, occupied trees and acts of sabotage- have significantly delayed Fennovoima´s plans to start the construction of the nuclear power plant together with energy company Fortum and Rosatom – Russian state owned company that specialises in the manufacturing of nuclear arms. Since the start of the occupation the situation on Hanhikivi cape has become more and more oppressive. A couple of weeks ago guards from the security company Arlia entered the camp in the night, armed with knives. A person was dragged away by the hair and two occupants were arrested by the police.

Both the camp on Hanhikivi Cape and Squat Venetsia – as part of the finnish squatting scene – have lately played important roles in spreading autonomous culture of active resistance and direct action against state and capital, in Finland. It is no coincidence they have been targeted now, on the verge of the protests taking place on Friday.

Helsinki university’s Porthania building has been occupied because we occupiers are sick of the government’s cuts, the downgrading of research facilities and oppression of personnel. The occupation is politically unallied and all those who oppose the cuts to education or the governement’s stranglehold on the people are welcome. We demand high quality research and teaching. These cannot be achieved by cutting jobs, making everyday life of people harder due to cuts or by cutting research and its funding.

Here is your chance to influence current events by taking part in the occupation! Wide-ranging general education cannot be guaranteed by cutting from the students, weakening teaching or by private funding. We the occupiers do not wish to return to the past; we seek options for students and staff to improve Finnish education. The occupation is our way of showing support to all those who suffer from current austerity policy.

WHAT? Occupation of Porthania Building; meetings, workshops and entertainment
WHERE? Helsinki university, Porthania, Yliopistonkatu 3
WHEN? Now! At this very moment Porthania is being occupied until Tuesday 22.9. after which a general assembly meeting will be held and we will decide about what follows.

People fed up with the constant rundown of education and research have occupied the University of Helsinki, Porthania building today. This politically independent occupation is a message from within the university community against austerity politics. At the same time, it is an entry into a broader front against cuts and a show of solidarity with Friday’s union action. The occupation joins us as part of an international university movement that opposes austerity politics and the shift towards market-oriented education.

The unprecedented education cuts, made under the guise of austerity, will drastically undermine universities’ position in society and their role as a pillar of civilization. The announced massive employee cooperation negotiations will be impossible to carry out without destroying the level of research and teaching. The occupiers of Porthania call into question the replacement of decreased state funding with increased commercial cooperation.

The occupiers of Porthania demand the rejection of empty talk about changes and development. Talk of change does not mean anything in itself. The occupiers are not longing for a time gone by, but want to express what kind of change they want to see at the university and in the society. Their message is absolute: quality research, teaching and studying cannot be generated by making everyday life miserable, desiccating research funding or reducing jobs.
Image credit NYT.FI

Image credit NYT.FI

The university community has already suffered from constant funding cuts, structural reforms, staff reductions and curricular reforms during the term of the previous government. These reforms and changes are part of a constant spiral of reforming and developing that has not lead to the improvement of research, studies or the university community. The most distinct change to the societal position of the university was the Universities Act of 2009, which has enabled the centralization of power from the university community to university management and the board. University management at the University of Helsinki has shown an uncritical public response to education cuts. This is unacceptable. Therefore, the people of the university are taking over their own spaces to demonstrate that the autonomy of universities is not for sale.

The occupiers announce that they have had enough. The participants of the occupation invite everyone who opposes education cuts to join the occupation and show their support to the demonstration.

Follow the group Angry Students on Twitter and Facebook
Students are using the hastag #yliopistovaltaus

Early in the morning of monday July 6th, with simple and cheap tools like a hacksaw and a can of spray paint, we disabled an expensive digger machine at Fennovoima & Rosatom’s nuclear power plant working site at Hanhikivi, Pyhäjoki.

We committed the action as an independent group of direct actors – not acting in the name of any organization, but only in the name of solidarity towards the global struggle acting under black and green banners. We support anyone who acts against Fennovoima & Rosatom.

EN:
Activist that are resisting to the Fennovoima’s nuclear power project showed the warmest solidarity to struggles in the world and anarchists and environmentalist activists in prison on June 11th as part of an international day of action.

In the Hanikivi peninsula (Puhäjoki) Finland’s third nuclear company Fennovoima and the russian company Rosatom wants to built a nuclear power plant. Many people are opposing this project. Information on the issue, protest demonstration, blockades and direct action. All those means are necessary and they are part of one big opposition to the projects of those who devastates the land, poison living being and make profit on life.
We bring solidarity to No TAV movement in Val Susa, to all the Z.A.D. in France, to the resistance in the Hambach’s forest and all those struggle for which resistance means existence.One Struggle, because we believe that all the struggle are connected by the same meaning, by the same emotions and passions and by the revolutionary instinct.

A Swedish national and two others were detained Monday morning for involvement in a protest against the construction of a nuclear plant by Fennovoima in Pyhäjoki, near Oulu. Two of the detained protesters had chained themselves to excavating equipment.

Three people have been taken into custody following their involvement in a protest against the building of a nuclear plant in Pyhäjoki, western Finland.

Two of the detained protesters had reportedly chained themselves to excavating equipment.

A third detainee, a Swedish national, has been named as 19-year-old student Leon Berthas, who may have been filming the protest. His father, Håkan Berthas, told Yle he last heard from his son at eight a.m. Monday and has not been in contact with him since.

“He said that the police were coming. I said ‘you should be alert, watch out,’” Berthas said.

Berthas said that he presumes that his son simply wanted to film the event but that police prevented him from doing so by detaining him.

“They didn’t want him to film,” Berthas alleged. “It is obvious that they do not want demonstrations and police violence to be filmed,” he claimed.

Police spokesman Arto Autio said that Leon Berthas was taken to the Raahe police station for questioning because he refused to obey police requests at the construction site. Autio said that police repeated their requests 10 times before he was taken into custody.

Autio says the individuals were taken into custody because police needed to check their identities, and that Berthas faces charges of disobeying police.

It remains unclear when the three will be released.

Bertha attends college and his documentary film “Sisu Meltdown,” about nuclear power in Finland — which his father helped to film — is part of his coursework.

The Fennovoima Energy Company is starting to construct a nuclear power plant in Pyhäjoki, a nice, quiet and small municipality in the northwest of Finland. An action camp has been started in the area to stop the project.

During the second half of April, Fennovoima cut 95 hectares of very special coastal forest at the construction site. They didn’t wait for a month for the legal permission to clearcut the landscape. Instead, Fennovoima started destroying the forest on Wednesday, the 15 of April. The forest was a home for several rare birds and other species. Nests of endangered white-backed woodpeckers (Dendrocopos leucotos) were destroyed, a very rare white-tailed eagle got disturbed as dozens of machines demolished its neighborhood.

The operation was carried out by the Waste Management Company Lassila & Tikanoja. The fast start of the cutting was a shock for many people and organizations. The local nature conservation association, the bird protection association and the antinuclear organization Pro Hanhikivi that have been opposing Fennovoima complained and demanded to stop the cutting of the forest immediately. The nesting season of the birds had started already. Many antinuclear people resigned their waste management contract with Lassila & Tikanoja immediately.

In Helsinki 5 people from the Hyökyaalto Eco Action Group took necessary action and entered the headquarters of Lassila & Tikanoja, in order to distribute flyers to the workers in their offices and they refused to leave the building before the cuttings would be stopped. Three people were carried out by police and arrested. They were released on the same day.

We, the Hyökyaalto Eco Action Group, had already planned to start a camp at the forest area, but now we had to hurry. On Tuesday morning, the 21th of April at 6 AM, four people arrived at the cape of Pyhäjoki and witnessed the apocalyptic view of dozens of machines killing the forest. During the following six days the cutting machines were working 24/7. We had been in contact with local cabin owners, and now we just waited to get the cabin keys – and the occupation camp started. The locals were upset, since Fennovoima had been given a special permission that made it possible for them to expropriate land from the locals, which had belonged to their families for generations. The locals knew their cottages on the shore should be emptied by the 31th of May, but they still didn’t know what the compensation price would be.

hanhikivi2-hakkuurisua The next morning more people arrived from northern Finland and plenty of locals arrived to see the clearcuttings. Soon one person climbed high into a tree, in order to occupy a small part of forest left over to stop it from being cut. At the same time, two cars blocked the road off from the cutting machines and security cars. Some people just ran to the machines and placed themselves in front of them so that they were forced to stop the cuttings. When the cops arrived, they got loads of frustrated feedback from Pyhäjoki people, including one person who had first parked his car to block the road. They reminded the cops that they had never been heard when they complained about the crimes of Fennovoima’s, but now the cops were there immediately to protect Fennovoima’s destruction of the forest for the nuclear power plant. Two people that had blocked the machines were arrested by the cops immediately. The tree and small forest area was occupied successfully for 16 hours. Activists from the Hyökyvaalto Group supported the occupation of the tree by bringing warm clothes, food and clean water. In the night a heavy snow storm stopped the occupation of the small forest area and the activist was forced to leave his position in the tree. The next morning that small part of the forest was simply cut down.

Meanwhile, on the next night in Helsinki, in response to the cutting operations, two vans of the waste company Lassila & Tikanoja were burned out completely and a third van was damaged in the same fire. People in the camp and around it welcomed the news from south joyfully. We didn´t hear a negative word about the arsons.

In the camp all kind of little disturbing of the work process became a daily routine. The only road to the cabins goes through the clean cut area and is used by the cutting workers, so people who used the road slowed down the disturbing of the environment whenever there was a log truck or security car on the road. Soon the security company forgot that the road is a public road and started stopping cars from getting to the shore area where the cottages are and accused us as well as the locals for trespassing in the area. Fennovoima’s illegal attempts to try to occupy the cape, while it was still privately owned and public accessible land, raised even more anger amongst the residents.

On Saturday the next bigger blockade was carried out by the activists. A forest tractor was stopped and blocked for 6 hours as three people jumped onto it, chained and locked themselves to it. A bit later one activist changed vehicles when a log truck was stopped on the road next to the forest tractor and he blocked the log truck. A media show was on. One person from the camp had already been on air in the local radio station and was talking about Fennovoima and direct action, but now the pictures of repeating protests spread throughout the media nationwide. The companies attempt to carry out the work in silence didn´t work out after all.

Just a few days later, on Tuesday, a group of four people attempted to block a log truck that was speeding down the road. Three of them stood on the road prepped with a banner, ready to jump upon the truck the moment it would slow down. The optimistic trust towards the truck driver created a lethal risk, since the driver made no attempt to stop. They had to jump off the road and into the ditch, but one person managed to run after the truck, jump onto it, and climb onto the logs while the truck was still driving. Soon the truck had to stop and the banner was raised. It took several hours before the cops and firemen managed to get him off his position on the truck.

In the last few days there has been more and more critical news about Fennovoima and their actions. There are only two months left until the deadline on June 2015, when Fennovoima needs to have 60% Finnish ownership according the government officials, and it´s still lacking investors. The Finnish state partly owns a company named Fortum and they are negotiating about Russian involvement in hydropower and are about to buy 15% of Fennovoima. If that wouldn´t happen, Fennovoima would be in deep problems. They would probably not be able to cut themselves off of the construction contracts before 1th of July when their decision in principle (permission from the government and parliament) will expire and they would need to start the whole political process again.

Many people wonder if any reasonable company would be willing to jump into the mess Fennovoima has created, or still consider if they want to confirm the old contracts.

Until the 31th of May the cabins will be legally in the use of the campers, but let´s see how the expropriations will be put into action. We have never said we would leave the cape at that date. During the next period, Fennovoima may attempt to build a fence to cover the construction area along the cape and build the electricity system for the upcoming construction site of the nuclear power plant. This spring and summer will be a period of active resistance for us, and we don’t intend to leave the area after the summer period either. Now is the best moment to make the greedy nuclear power project fall. Still, we need help!! Join the resistance!

Right now, we have been more than successful in our fight against Fennovoima. We have supporters and several different resources to continue our resistance. We have found a vast majority of people positively supporting us through social media, email, phone, and the local supporters have been generous in providing us with clean drinking water, washing facilities and shelter.

And yet, nevertheless, more people are needed here, in Pyhäjoki. We have become a mixed group of people of environmentally concerned people, activists, locals, and also average people who have become aware of the situation through social media and, instead of just “liking”, took a bus to Pyhäjoki to join us in our cozy and family-like, warm camp.

Everybody can make a difference, either through cooking nice food for our daily meals, writing texts about the events here for (social) media, addressing locals and workers, handing out flyers and other tasks. And if you are an adventurous person you can join us in our actions. If you love animals, come and take pictures of the crimes committed against the endangered species that are left and frightened, since they only have small areas of forest left to live in.

The final expropriation date has been set by Fennovoima to the end of May. This is the most important time to gather at the cape of Hanhikivi, the most beautiful place of nature that Finland has to offer for nature lovers, families and those who love to see rare species of animals in their natural environment.